Who wrote the Book of Genesis?

The entire Holy Bible is God-breathed and inspired God! It is pretty much accepted that the Book of Genesis was written by Moses. In fact, Moses is credited with writing the first five books of the Old Testament, which is often referred to as the Torah.

Where did Jesus’ spirit go when He died?

The Bible does not specifically state what happened during those three days. Many biblical scholars have offered different theories based on scripture. Some say He went to Hades; others say he went to “Abraham’s Bosom” to preach the gospel. They base this on 1 Peter 3:18-20 and Luke 16:22-23. The truth is we just don’t know. I’m sorry, but there just isn’t a definitive answer to that question.

In the Bible, it said that Jesus had many siblings. How come in church this is never mentioned?

The Holy Bible does mention Jesus’ brothers. In the Book of Matthew 13:55-56, they are named as James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. Those verses also mention that Jesus had some sisters, although they aren’t named and we don’t know how many there were. Of course, these would all be half-brothers and half-sisters. To say that his brothers are never mentioned in church isn’t completely accurate. His half-brother James was one of the original 12 disciples and wrote the Book of James. His other half-brother Judas, went by the name Jude, and wrote the Book of Jude. Only Joseph and Simon are not mentioned again.

The whole reason for the New Testament is to learn about the gift of grace and salvation that is given to all of us by Jesus. It is the story of God’s love for us and Jesus is the center-piece. The most important parts of Jesus’ life have to do with his three-year ministry so many of the Biblical writers just chose to leave out stuff about His childhood and His family. Anything of importance was written in one of the four Gospels.

Thankfully, we have the Book of James and the Book of Jude to see how Jesus’ life and teaching affected two of his brothers!

Why didn’t Jesus do what Satan told him to do?

Jesus is also God. And our God is all-powerful and sovereign. That means that all things were created by Him and for Him. This would include Satan.

Satan is a created being. He is not equal to God and Satan cannot make God do anything. God created Satan. Because Jesus is God, Satan cannot tell Jesus what to do. Of course, there are several instances where Satan tries to tell Jesus what to do; in fact, in the book of Matthew, chapter 4, we see Satan try and tempt Jesus in the desert. But, Jesus does not give in to Satan and uses the word of God to resist him.

Never forget that you have the strength of Jesus in you. Jesus died for all of us and we are saved because of His sacrifice. When you feel pressured by friends to do things that are wrong, ask for Jesus’ help. If you ever have any doubts about Jesus’ abilities, just think of Philippians 4:13, which reads:

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.”

Why was Jesus so nice?

That is an awesome question! I think that the most important thing to remember about Jesus is that He is not only a man but He is also God. While God has many attributes, one of His most incredible qualities is His capacity to love us. In fact, one of the most well known Biblical passages is John 3:16, which reads:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son and whoever shall believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

This shows us how much God loved us! Jesus is a physical representation of that love. If you ever want to know how to be like Jesus, just look at the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Jesus was a living example of the fruit of the Spirit. That’s why He was so nice!

If you know that what you’re about to do is wrong and you think that you will just ask for forgiveness later, will God forgive you?

Wow! Great question! And it’s also a very complicated question with an equally complex answer. The Apostle Paul talks about this very subject in the book of Romans, Chapter 6. The whole chapter is devoted to us being dead to sin but alive in Christ and that we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness. The subject is so critical that Paul writes, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Romans 6:1) And he later repeats himself when he says, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15)

What Paul is saying is that just because God will forgive you doesn’t give you the excuse to commit the sin, especially when you know it’s wrong. It all has to do with your heart. Are you truly sorry? Are you truly repentant? Or do you think because you know God forgives sins, you’ll be okay?

Let’s look at another very important scripture verse that deals specifically with this: it’s Hebrews 10:26-27. It says, “If we keep deliberately sinning after we have received the knowledge of truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

God does not take this stuff lightly. If you know it’s wrong and you intentionally do it because you think by asking for forgiveness later you’ll be forgiven, God says there is no sacrifice for that. You must truly be sorry and never do it again. Only God knows your heart. But, when He knows you are truly sorry and that you won’t do it again and that you were silly for thinking you could do it and expecting forgiveness … believe it or not, then God will forgive you! He knows you are sincere in your apology.

Is it possible that the Bible was written hundreds of years ago by someone with a huge imagination that didn’t know it would attract this many people?

Wow! That is an awesome question! So, let’s look at this scientifically because the sciences can help either support or contradict theories.

The science of archaeology supports the age of the Bible. Between 1947 and 1956, the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered by archaeologists in eleven caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea Scrolls are the remains of about 900 separate scrolls and are dated to have been written between 70 A.D. and 150 A.D. (This tells me that the earliest scroll was written 1,940 years ago!). What’s also amazing about the Dead Sea Scrolls is that they are the oldest known copies of the Old Testament! In fact, in many cases the Dead Sea Scrolls are almost word-for-word matches to our modern day Bible!

Next, there have been a lot of archaeological finds in the recent years that support many of the places and locations mentioned in the Bible. These places and items help prove that much of what the ancient manuscripts describe is historically accurate.
Also, there are non-biblical texts that support the age of the Bible. There are letters written by the historian Josephus (who lived around 60 A.D.) and Pliny the Younger that support the story of Jesus. Both these men lived back near the time when Jesus was crucified or shortly thereafter.

Finally, how do we explain our calendar? Why do Christians around the world use the year “2010” to describe what year it is? It is because it is based upon the time after Jesus’ death on the cross. Why would we use the death of a simple Jewish carpenter to mark the passage of time? It’s because Jesus is God and existed almost 2,011 years ago and now we have the New Testament to describe His story and the birth of the church.

Isn’t it amazing that the Bible is the one book that has been translated into more languages than any other book and has been published, reprinted and distributed more than any other book EVER?

Does all this sound like it could be done by only one person with a huge imagination? I don’t think so. Do you?